Pumptoys - anyone know what’s going on?

[MaskedHero]

I just don’t get it with these guys. I’ve sent numerous emails over the last few months, with questions about products and or future availability (like the bullmaster magnum) and can’t get a simple email reply?

They had no problem taking and filling my smaller orders in November. Another thing I noticed: they added descriptions to the standard bullmaster and magnum saying they aren’t being discontinued. The price has raised substantially too, they cost more than a monster tube now! It’s crazy. I really don’t know what their deal is, why they’re so selective about which emails they respond to, and why their flagship products still aren’t available. The “Covid disrupted our supply” excuse is getting old. I’m in the plastics industry, and no one puts up with supply disruptions for this long if that is even their true problem.

[alterna_de]

The guy running it over there is kinda rude too. I wish someone would just take his design and run with it. I love my Bullmaster but I'm sure there are innovations to be made to the design

[emhkissm!]

Also agree! I ordered something within the first couple of days of the year and by the end of the month nothing was looked at. So i canceled it. I rarely got a response back and when i did he was snippy and made alot of excuses. Dont recommend. I would love to purchase the products but they are way too expensive ( 500 bucks CAD for bullmaster)

Really not a fan of the site based on my experience

[GinLover]

Yeah, fuck this guy. He isn’t even able to understand the new customs rules for europe, although nothing has changed much.
I habe given up hope getting a Bullmaster Magnum anytime in this life. Hopes are high someone else will pop up selling a upgraded design, willing to ship outside the US.

[QSTech Dave]

Yes- I could tell you what’s going on, and apparently already have to the extent of touching on the primary issues directly linked to your questions, this mainly being the question which I’ve been bombarded with 5-10 times per day, every day, since the first day they were listed as being on back-order followed by their status changing to ‘out of stock- unavailable’: “When will I be able to buy a BullMaster / Magnum?”

Our reply to this inquiry will have first told you we began having (yes, I’m going to make those two references) supply issues with the specific size tubing stock used in making those cylinders with onset of the pandemic. And, MaskedHero, being ‘in the plastics industry’, you’ll be able to attest to several factors here- first being that this coincided with a world-wide polymer shortage (acrylic is made with polymers and monomers) which, while now better, continues to be an industry issue. #2- The shortage has been a major factor in the increased cost of acrylics, some near tripling in price over the last 3 years. And #3- Soon after the start of the pandemic, what product quickly became the number one most sought-after item on the face of the earth? 1/4 inch clear sheet acrylic. When this occurred the price of 1/4 inch sheet skyrocketed, becoming added incentive for many acrylic fabricators to break from their ‘normal’ production schedules in favor of increased output of the high-demand sheet goods, and the first items to be reduced or crossed off their list, at least temporarily, would naturally be those that were not their ‘heavy-hitter’ big sales items. For us, that would include two sizes of tubing; used in fabrication of our ASTJ, original BullMaster, and Magnum. And not just any tubing- we only use cast tubing, not extruded.

This becomes a serious issue to us because these cylinders are all thermal-formed in pressurized metal mold forms. Mold forms manufactured to work with very specifically sized tubing. Tubing that must fit these forms in both I.D. and O.D. if you expect them to hold pressure and not leak while immersed in a hot oil bath. To use any tubing stock of a close but not exact same size means you have to have a new set of custom forms made to do the job; by no means a cheap and easy feat- another factor anyone in the plastics industry knows to be a fact. There’s your general answer to our price increases- the first serious cost increase we’ve made in 10 years, by the way, and part of the reason that we’ve continued to ‘put up with supply disruption’; we’ve dealt with a few specific acrylic suppliers for over 20 years now, suppliers who have not only proven themselves able to continuously provide us with consistently sized, highest quality stock, but ‘held the line’ as long as possible before passing along price increases, and advanced warning of cost increases, allowing us to ‘up’ our orders as much as possible in advance. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much to you, but to us those are very desirable qualities for a business partner that are getting harder to find every day, and not to be easily dismissed.
For those of you still reading, thank you; you begin to see the issue with how you provide a ‘simple email reply’. When simplified, instead of this answering someone sufficiently, it’s often instead lead to people not satisfied with the response, and insisting on more information; information that I simply don’t have solid answers for, like exact timelines on when cylinders will again be available. Sure I could just pull a date out of mid-air to temporarily satisfy the party, but you can guess what that will lead to when that day comes and goes- then I’m a liar, B.S.-ing people just to temporarily get them ‘off my case’.

Well, I’m not in the habit of lying, and while it might mean some temporary relief from the onslaught of inquiries I mentioned above, I’m not going to do it, though a number of people seem to have decided that the way to get their wish fulfilled, because I must be lying and somehow intent on depriving them of a purchase for some reason, is to instead of watching the website for status update as I’ve explained try and ‘pressure’ me as if I’ve the ability to ‘give in’ by hitting me up with daily or weekly emails asking the same question. Not everyone- most our clients have been very understanding, but of a high enough number that I’m often spending hours a day trying to answer emails. And that, alterna_de and emhkissm!, may be why I may have been short in a reply; your email may have unfortunately timed in during a day where other pressing issues and a flood of recurring messagers had taken up my day, for which I apologize if my manner was curt; I don’t feel or recall having ever been ‘rude’ to anyone- waiting to respond at any point where I was ready to start eating my crayons, lol.

A huge number of small businesses went under due to (here it is again) the pandemic. We were lucky enough to weather it, but not without injury, losing almost half our team. Not to Covid directly, but due to lockdowns, family issues, etc. that meant some of our employees were forced to relocate or seek other work. And so far we’ve only been able to replace a few of them; this is not your typical workplace that just puts a notice of ‘help wanted’ in the window or newspaper. On top of this, and something we, ourselves, did not see coming, suddenly saw our average number of daily orders nearly double when “shelter in place” rules began, and they’ve stayed there. Don’t misunderstand me- we’re grateful for the increased business, but it’s made it all the tougher at times for us to keep pace with as we always had in the past, with 90% or better of orders shipping within 48 hrs.

The last 3 years have been the hardest PumpToys has ever seen, with far more involved than what I’ve detailed here, but we haven’t given in and we’re not about to give up. And that includes not giving up or lowering our standards of how we do business like a number of others have done, including some major corporations, justifying their reduction in service as “the new norm.”

Back to the direct quandary of when BullMaster and Magnum cylinders will again be readily available, I still don’t have a “magic 8 ball” with a date, and at present must continue to say that, just as I’ve said before, we continue to get delivery of the needed tube stock on a limited and uncertain basis, making as many cylinders as possible and resuming sales, but the small numbers available are gone in a flash. Because of the massive number interested in purchase, trying to maintain a ‘waiting list’ simply is not possible, and we can’t take pre-orders when we don’t solidly know how many we can make or how soon we can make them; credit card issuers and other payment systems all have rules in regard to acceptable times for shipment of paid goods that a merchant is wise to always stay within, and make refunds when you can’t (which merchants must pay a fee to make).

In closing, all I will add is that if it all sounds like a big excuse for not making the huge number of potential sales we’re currently missing out on, I’m sorry you feel that way, and stop to think about how idiotic that idea really sounds- we’d love nothing more than to be able to fill every one of those potential orders, and will further re-open sales as the situation makes possible.

[cma_throw]

Thanks for responding, Dave.

Tldr :
Bullmasters and other products require very specific acrylic tubing

This tubing remains in short supply, even after COVID

Pumptoys is facing staffing issues, also due to COVID

Demand for Pumptoys product is very high

For these reasons, it is difficult to predict when things will be in stock

[gijoejw]

Great response! I hate supply issues are so bad. Covid screwed over a-lot of us. Im fortunate I got a magnum before the pandemic and I use it 99% of the time. Thanks for a good tube

[MaskedHero]

Yes- I could tell you what’s going on, and apparently already have to the extent of touching on the primary issues directly linked to your questions, this mainly being the question which I’ve been bombarded with 5-10 times per day, every day, since the first day they were listed as being on back-order followed by their status changing to ‘out of stock- unavailable’: “When will I be able to buy a BullMaster / Magnum?”

Our reply to this inquiry will have first told you we began having (yes, I’m going to make those two references) supply issues with the specific size tubing stock used in making those cylinders with onset of the pandemic. And, MaskedHero, being ‘in the plastics industry’, you’ll be able to attest to several factors here- first being that this coincided with a world-wide polymer shortage (acrylic is made with polymers and monomers) which, while now better, continues to be an industry issue. #2- The shortage has been a major factor in the increased cost of acrylics, some near tripling in price over the last 3 years. And #3- Soon after the start of the pandemic, what product quickly became the number one most sought-after item on the face of the earth? 1/4 inch clear sheet acrylic. When this occurred the price of 1/4 inch sheet skyrocketed, becoming added incentive for many acrylic fabricators to break from their ‘normal’ production schedules in favor of increased output of the high-demand sheet goods, and the first items to be reduced or crossed off their list, at least temporarily, would naturally be those that were not their ‘heavy-hitter’ big sales items. For us, that would include two sizes of tubing; used in fabrication of our ASTJ, original BullMaster, and Magnum. And not just any tubing- we only use cast tubing, not extruded.

This becomes a serious issue to us because these cylinders are all thermal-formed in pressurized metal mold forms. Mold forms manufactured to work with very specifically sized tubing. Tubing that must fit these forms in both I.D. and O.D. if you expect them to hold pressure and not leak while immersed in a hot oil bath. To use any tubing stock of a close but not exact same size means you have to have a new set of custom forms made to do the job; by no means a cheap and easy feat- another factor anyone in the plastics industry knows to be a fact. There’s your general answer to our price increases- the first serious cost increase we’ve made in 10 years, by the way, and part of the reason that we’ve continued to ‘put up with supply disruption’; we’ve dealt with a few specific acrylic suppliers for over 20 years now, suppliers who have not only proven themselves able to continuously provide us with consistently sized, highest quality stock, but ‘held the line’ as long as possible before passing along price increases, and advanced warning of cost increases, allowing us to ‘up’ our orders as much as possible in advance. Maybe that doesn’t sound like much to you, but to us those are very desirable qualities for a business partner that are getting harder to find every day, and not to be easily dismissed.
For those of you still reading, thank you; you begin to see the issue with how you provide a ‘simple email reply’. When simplified, instead of this answering someone sufficiently, it’s often instead lead to people not satisfied with the response, and insisting on more information; information that I simply don’t have solid answers for, like exact timelines on when cylinders will again be available. Sure I could just pull a date out of mid-air to temporarily satisfy the party, but you can guess what that will lead to when that day comes and goes- then I’m a liar, B.S.-ing people just to temporarily get them ‘off my case’.

Well, I’m not in the habit of lying, and while it might mean some temporary relief from the onslaught of inquiries I mentioned above, I’m not going to do it, though a number of people seem to have decided that the way to get their wish fulfilled, because I must be lying and somehow intent on depriving them of a purchase for some reason, is to instead of watching the website for status update as I’ve explained try and ‘pressure’ me as if I’ve the ability to ‘give in’ by hitting me up with daily or weekly emails asking the same question. Not everyone- most our clients have been very understanding, but of a high enough number that I’m often spending hours a day trying to answer emails. And that, alterna_de and emhkissm!, may be why I may have been short in a reply; your email may have unfortunately timed in during a day where other pressing issues and a flood of recurring messagers had taken up my day, for which I apologize if my manner was curt; I don’t feel or recall having ever been ‘rude’ to anyone- waiting to respond at any point where I was ready to start eating my crayons, lol.

A huge number of small businesses went under due to (here it is again) the pandemic. We were lucky enough to weather it, but not without injury, losing almost half our team. Not to Covid directly, but due to lockdowns, family issues, etc. that meant some of our employees were forced to relocate or seek other work. And so far we’ve only been able to replace a few of them; this is not your typical workplace that just puts a notice of ‘help wanted’ in the window or newspaper. On top of this, and something we, ourselves, did not see coming, suddenly saw our average number of daily orders nearly double when “shelter in place” rules began, and they’ve stayed there. Don’t misunderstand me- we’re grateful for the increased business, but it’s made it all the tougher at times for us to keep pace with as we always had in the past, with 90% or better of orders shipping within 48 hrs.

The last 3 years have been the hardest PumpToys has ever seen, with far more involved than what I’ve detailed here, but we haven’t given in and we’re not about to give up. And that includes not giving up or lowering our standards of how we do business like a number of others have done, including some major corporations, justifying their reduction in service as “the new norm.”

Back to the direct quandary of when BullMaster and Magnum cylinders will again be readily available, I still don’t have a “magic 8 ball” with a date, and at present must continue to say that, just as I’ve said before, we continue to get delivery of the needed tube stock on a limited and uncertain basis, making as many cylinders as possible and resuming sales, but the small numbers available are gone in a flash. Because of the massive number interested in purchase, trying to maintain a ‘waiting list’ simply is not possible, and we can’t take pre-orders when we don’t solidly know how many we can make or how soon we can make them; credit card issuers and other payment systems all have rules in regard to acceptable times for shipment of paid goods that a merchant is wise to always stay within, and make refunds when you can’t (which merchants must pay a fee to make).

In closing, all I will add is that if it all sounds like a big excuse for not making the huge number of potential sales we’re currently missing out on, I’m sorry you feel that way, and stop to think about how idiotic that idea really sounds- we’d love nothing more than to be able to fill every one of those potential orders, and will further re-open sales as the situation makes possible.

Dave, while I can appreciate the response and insight – walls of text like this are better served on your own platform/web site, rather than the current stale message of “our next stock is expected to deliver within 7-10 days” that plagues every item you list as out of stock.


In my experience, clear communication from start to finish is key to the success of a customer’s overall experience – perhaps you wouldn’t be ‘bombarded’ by communications daily if you had built out a function on your site to inform visitors of your current issues and expectations before they start digging rabbit holes to find the best ways to reach you and get their hands on product. This is by no means an unreasonable thought – your platform mentions next to nothing in regards to anything you referenced above. Truly, the situation reads like the police doing a welfare check on a home where the lights are on and the music is blaring, but no one will answer the door; of course they aren’t going to leave until their questions are answered. You’re missing that clear and concise commutation to your customers, instead you’re relying on a piece meal and “respond to what I can individually” method.

The material shortage: I get it, the supply chains and purchase regularity aren’t what they used to be by a long shot. We manufacture medical assistance devices, surgical equipment, and hospital supplies nationwide, while too utilizing custom molds. We are by no means at the top of our food chain; even with our fluctuating level of demand and uncommon stock size compared to our competitors we are still able to source this material reliably through various distribution providers which in my opinion, have only improved throughout the last year and a half. Your loyalty to your distributor is admirable, but, I can promise you that inventory and price stability are pushing back into the industry and polymers as a whole have substantially recovered outside of whatever specific companies you’re referencing. Is it a 1:1 comparison? Absolutely not. Am I speaking in general terms of my overall experience with various suppliers within the industry? Yes I am.

So, while I can ‘attest’ to several factors you noted, I cannot attest to your solutions or communication styles to be adequate in any fashion. How you choose to conduct and run your business is your choice, but just as you’re allowed to have your frustrations as the business operative, we as the end consumer are allowed to have ours – especially when communication is subpar. I’m truly sorry to hear about your staffing issues, we lost many good employees of our own during the pandemic and even lost one to the disease itself. We may never see the strong staff numbers and longevity again from that perspective. The labor shortage is an awful burden for any business to carry in 2024. I hope things turn around for you and that you can improve.

You can continue thinking these types of posts are ‘idiotic’ in nature. My suggestions and thoughts are my own, but you should stop and think why these types of posts continue to swarm these forums, Reddit, and other pumping sites. Is it because we’re all willfully ignorant to the information you’re disseminating in about 1 out of every 50 messages you receive? Or is it because your methods of conveying information are woefully behind what the current industry standards are, leaving many of us in the dark. Food for thought. I genuinely hope Pumptoys can improve and be successful, in whatever measure that means to you.

MH

[QSTech Dave]

Dave, while I can appreciate the response and insight – walls of text like this are better served on your own platform/web site, rather than the current stale message of “our next stock is expected to deliver within 7-10 days” that plagues every item you list as out of stock.


In my experience, clear communication from start to finish is key to the success of a customer’s overall experience – perhaps you wouldn’t be ‘bombarded’ by communications daily if you had built out a function on your site to inform visitors of your current issues and expectations before they start digging rabbit holes to find the best ways to reach you and get their hands on product. This is by no means an unreasonable thought – your platform mentions next to nothing in regards to anything you referenced above. Truly, the situation reads like the police doing a welfare check on a home where the lights are on and the music is blaring, but no one will answer the door; of course they aren’t going to leave until their questions are answered. You’re missing that clear and concise commutation to your customers, instead you’re relying on a piece meal and “respond to what I can individually” method.

The material shortage: I get it, the supply chains and purchase regularity aren’t what they used to be by a long shot. We manufacture medical assistance devices, surgical equipment, and hospital supplies nationwide, while too utilizing custom molds. We are by no means at the top of our food chain; even with our fluctuating level of demand and uncommon stock size compared to our competitors we are still able to source this material reliably through various distribution providers which in my opinion, have only improved throughout the last year and a half. Your loyalty to your distributor is admirable, but, I can promise you that inventory and price stability are pushing back into the industry and polymers as a whole have substantially recovered outside of whatever specific companies you’re referencing. Is it a 1:1 comparison? Absolutely not. Am I speaking in general terms of my overall experience with various suppliers within the industry? Yes I am.

So, while I can ‘attest’ to several factors you noted, I cannot attest to your solutions or communication styles to be adequate in any fashion. How you choose to conduct and run your business is your choice, but just as you’re allowed to have your frustrations as the business operative, we as the end consumer are allowed to have ours – especially when communication is subpar. I’m truly sorry to hear about your staffing issues, we lost many good employees of our own during the pandemic and even lost one to the disease itself. We may never see the strong staff numbers and longevity again from that perspective. The labor shortage is an awful burden for any business to carry in 2024. I hope things turn around for you and that you can improve.

You can continue thinking these types of posts are ‘idiotic’ in nature. My suggestions and thoughts are my own, but you should stop and think why these types of posts continue to swarm these forums, Reddit, and other pumping sites. Is it because we’re all willfully ignorant to the information you’re disseminating in about 1 out of every 50 messages you receive? Or is it because your methods of conveying information are woefully behind what the current industry standards are, leaving many of us in the dark. Food for thought. I genuinely hope Pumptoys can improve and be successful, in whatever measure that means to you.

MH

MH-
I’m going to try my best to make this last response to this thread as short and clear as possible. I’m aware that in trying to provide detailed description I often go overboard, resulting in ‘walls of text’. Bad habit, and I own it.

You mention “walls of text like this are better served on your own platform/web site”. I’m in complete agreement with you on that, but just as you are free to raise the subject here, I should be equally free to respond to the issues that have been raised. Oh, and I will see if I can't somehow "spice up" those "stale" stock reports a bit.

You next refer to “…if you had built out a function on your site to inform visitors of your current issues and expectations…”. Funny thing is, I did just that when first trying to inform clients of the problems. The result- an even higher level of after-the-fact emails demanding further info- the info which I’d already explained I did not have, and was not going to offer ‘speculation’ about because no matter how carefully you make a statement, when something doesn’t happen as you said it was supposed to, you’re likely to be held to the fire as having promised whatever, given your sworn oath it would happen even though you may have strongly advised the info was unconfirmed and ‘second-hand’ when you shared it; it will not usually be recalled as such. The “billboard” website notice method failed; only then did I remove it and go one-on-one with replies. Neither has done much to divert more of my time towards fixing things that will reduce problems and speed up getting back to a place we’d all prefer to be.

As to your comments on the industry and materials issues, we’re very near agreement on much of that, too. Yes, many areas of the industry are starting to rebound in a stronger, more noticeable way now. And this includes further encouraging signs and comments from our suppliers for a much-improved ability to deliver the tube stock we’ve been in need of for so long. More than a year ago I provided them with a written “standing order” promise to purchase every foot of those necessary sizes that they could produce for us every month, capped only at such time they were able to deliver a minimum of 1-1/2 times the average amount we used to get in each order, and repeat the same for six consecutive deliveries. And barring any unforeseen new complications being thrown at the human race, things are finally looking like I’ll have to ‘make good’ on that contract before much longer, and no one will be happier about it than us when that day arrives.

Concerning our both being allowed to have our frustrations over the situation, yes, absolutely, true and agreed. As for communications being ‘subpar’ I definitely admit they aren’t what they used to be, and this has been a major disconcerting factor for myself. It has bothered me greatly that at times I’ve been so covered in issues, tasks, or putting out other’s “brushfires” that all demanded my attention I’ve often had little or no time to try and catch up with email. Rarely am I able to catch a phone, up to my elbows in a tank of oil or some other task which can’t be interrupted and when I start to return a call later I quickly realize I can’t because it’s 10 or 12 at night here, later or beyond appropriate calling hours elsewhere. I don’t like it but there’s been no alternative. I’m the last remaining original founder still actively here, and pretty much trying to cover the ground that used to be shared by three, and in some cases the only person here who knows how certain things are done. And holy crap, on March 4th it will be four years ago, just after Covid began in the U.S. that I actually packed some clothes, grabbed my dog, closed up my house and we moved into my office here, sleeping on the couch ever since. So yes, and thank you; I hope things turn around, too. I’m not getting any younger, and one day I’d like to go home again. (That is, if it hasn’t been taken over by squatters yet.)

Finally, in your last paragraph- one correction: I did not say that I thought these types of posts were idiotic (or I’d have had to qualify that remark with the addendum “at least not the ones made honestly and/or that bring about useful discussion/better understanding.”) My comment was to ask that “… if it all sounds like a big excuse for not making the huge number of potential sales we’re currently missing out on” one should stop to think how idiotic that statement actually sounds.

(Hey, at least this one is a SHORTER wall…..)

[QSTech Dave]

Yeah, fuck this guy. He isn’t even able to understand the new customs rules for europe, although nothing has changed much.
I habe given up hope getting a Bullmaster Magnum anytime in this life. Hopes are high someone else will pop up selling a upgraded design, willing to ship outside the US.

GinLover,
I very much understand the new EU imposed shipping regulations for packages shipping to EU Member States, and I think when one of those new regulations initiates a change which all but forces any merchant sending products to a buyer who is importing said items to act as that country's tax agent, collecting, recording, and submitting taxes collected on their behalf, as a free 'service' to that government, essentially doing their customs department's job for them, I consider that a pretty major change.

You probably noticed I stressed "all but forces" merchants to do this. That's because they thankfully left the door slightly ajar, leaving a narrow path still open to merchants who do not wish to 'play their game', and we most definitely will not play; that safe path is attained through our imposing a minimum merchandise purchase requirement on all orders shipping to any EU Member State of $200.00USD. Through this minimum purchase rule, we are not required/forced/blackmailed- choose whatever you wish to call it, into collecting any taxes or fees imposed on the buying importer, nor pay our accountants to keep record of such, nor force our website cart programmer to re-structure the ordering program and database to also record fees due and collected, needing only to add statement to the import documentation that no fees or taxes have been paid to or collected by the merchant, and they remain due and the responsibility of the buying importer.

They did not, however, leave a back door open in terms of now requiring HS Tariff codes for all products, amended product descriptions which must be approved by EU customs, along with several other little extras. And while once you've got a code for every product that part is basically done, there's also the need to completely re-format and re-design all of our invoice forms, adding entry spaces for codes, extended descriptions, etc. along with similar modifications to our order management system, and so on.

So, while maybe it doesn't change much of anything for you, it packs a fairly healthy punch for many merchants. The original intended result for this change was a good one; unfortunately I think the EU took things a little farther than they should have, and it's likely to end up meaning added price increases on goods being bought. Time will tell.

[Brazilien]

If it's complicated for the European Union, imagine it for us here in Brazil, besides being expensive due to the exchange rate, imagine the taxation. It remains to improvise with STJ